The Prince of Wales on architecture: his 10 'monstrous carbuncles' - Telegraph The Royal Family The Prince of Wales on architecture: his 10 'monstrous carbuncles' The Prince of Wales has defended his views on modern buildings 25 years after his 'monstrous carbuncle' speech but architects remained divided on whether his comments have made any difference.

Image 1 of 5 Prince Charles insists he had not intended to "kick-start some kind of 'style war' between Classicists and Modernists" Photo: REUTERS Image 1 of 5 Plans for a skyscraper to replace the Mappin & Webb building were scrapped, only to be replaced by a design Charles said "looks rather like an old 1930s wireless" Photo: TELEGRAPH Poundbury, modelled on traditional linear village development Photo: JOHN ROBERTSON Richard Rogers' plan for a housing scheme at the former Chelsea Barracks Prince Charles backs Quinlan Terry's plan for Chelsea Barracks By Alastair Jamieson 1:33PM BST 13 May 2009 He insisted he had not intended to "kick-start some kind of 'style war' between Classicists and Modernists" despite making outspoken comments on several major public projects since his first speech in 1984. Leading architects have accused the Prince of threatening the "democratic process" with his latest "destructive" intervention in plans for a £1bn housing scheme on the former Chelsea Barracks site in London.

He apologised at a dinner to mark the 175th anniversary of the Royal Institute of British Architects' (RIBA) - the same audience where he made his infamous 'carbuncle' speech at the organisation's 150th celebrations. So what has the Prince actually said about the buildings about which he has campaigned, and has he made any difference? The Telegraph spoke to his supporters and critics about his top 10 clashes with the architectural elite. 1. National Gallery Extension, Trafalgar Square, London Related Articles Prince Charles suffers setback in Chelsea Barracks planning fight with Qatar royal family 12 Jun 2009 WHAT THE PRINCE SAID: On 30 May 1984 Prince Charles sent shock waves through architecture when he used a speech to the 150th anniversary of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) to lambast modern design, describing a scheme by Peter Ahrends for the a towering extension to the National Gallery as a "monstrous carbuncle on the face of a much-loved and elegant friend". WHAT HAPPENED: The Ahrends scheme was scrapped, marking an early victory for Charles.

The eventual design, built in 1991 following a donation from Lord Sainsbury was created by the postmodernist architects Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown. "The result is not as exciting but looking at it now we can see it does work well," said Amanda Baillieu, editor of Building Design. The RIBA website now refers to the speech as "a discourtesy to architectural history." 2. One Poultry, London WHAT THE PRINCE SAID: In the same 'carbuncle' speech the Prince burned his friendship with polo pal Peter (now Lord) Palumbo by criticising his plans, devised by German-born modernist Mies van der Rohe, for a skyscraper to replace the Victorian Mappin & Webb building. "It would be a tragedy if the character and skyline of our capital city were to be further ruined and St Paul's dwarfed by yet another giant glass stump, better suited to downtown Chicago than the City of London," said the Prince. WHAT HAPPENED: A hollow victory for HRH. The plans were abandoned, only to be replaced by a design by Sir James Stirling that Charles later said "looks rather like an old 1930s wireless".

Lord Palumbo, who became chairman of the Arts Council, responded: "I can only say God bless the Prince of Wales, and God save us from his architectural judgment." 3. Redevelopment of Paternoster Square, London WHAT THE PRINCE SAID: He criticised a 1987 scheme by Richard (now Lord) Rogers. "You have to give this much to the Luftwaffe," he told the Corporation of London Planning and Communication Committee's annual dinner at Mansion House. "When it knocked down our buildings, it didn't replace them with anything more offensive than rubble. Surely here, if anywhere, is the time and place to sacrifice some profit, if need be, for generosity of vision, for elegance, for dignity; for buildings which would raise our spirits and our faith in commercial enterprise ... On such a site [Paternoster Square], market forces, I would suggest, are not enough ... I would like to see architects working with artists and craftsmen, showing that pleasure and delight are indeed returning to architecture after their long exile." WHAT HAPPENED: The Prince won the battle but lost the war.

His intervention forced the Rogers design off the agenda in favour of a traditional classical design by his favoured architect John Simpson but that also lost out to a William Whitfield scheme that wasn't completed until 2003. Rogers' website describes the outcome as "confused and disappointing". Rogers himself said: "What was needed was a scheme with real integrity – not a dogmatic piece of modernism or an eclectic pastiche." 4. Canary Wharf, London WHAT THE PRINCE SAID: In his October 1988 BBC documentary A Vision of Britain, the Prince said: "I personally would go mad if I had to work in a place like that, because I would feel how the hell would you get out in the event of a fire apart from anything else." WHAT HAPPENED: The One Canada Square tower became an icon of the regeneration of London's Docklands area, and many of the lower-level buildings that surrounded it won design awards and are of significantly better quality than the early houses and office blocks that sprung up when the area was first designated an enterprise zone by the Thatcher government in the mid-1980s. 5.

Cardiff Bay, including the Wales Millennium Centre WHAT THE PRINCE SAID: In the same October 1988 BBC documentary A Vision of Britain, the Prince warned against rapid redevelopment of the area similar to that of London's Docklands. "With courage and vision Cardiff could build something of real character. It would be a tragedy to allow what has happened in too many of our ports, where warehouses and basins were wantonly destroyed or filled in because of the speed of development or a lack of imagination." WHAT HAPPENED: Plans for an opera house in the area by modernist Zaha Hadid were scrapped after criticism from commentators including Royal fine art commissioner the late Giles Worsley, editor of the Prince of Wales's then architecture magazine Perspectives. "A monument must express the hopes and aspirations of the people. It must bring people together, not create division. Hadid's Modernism, for all the vociferous campaigning of her supporters, is likely to seem alien to large numbers of the population," he wrote. The project was eventually replaced by the Wales Millennium Centre, a multi-purpose arts complex designed by Jonathan Adams and opened in 2004. "I think the Prince is happy enough with it," says Adams.

"Leaving aside his quite narrow taste in architecture, he was right to highlight that for too long architects had been myopic and too concerned about themselves. He is still right today when he says that we should be concerned about a loss of identity in buildings. We deliberately set out to create a building in Wales that was unmistakably of its place and its people and it is good that Prince Charles has raised the issue of the character and identity in places that we build." 6. Birmingham Central Library and Birmingham Convention Centre WHAT THE PRINCE SAID: In the same October 1988 BBC documentary A Vision of Britain, the Prince said the 1974 brutalist library designed by John Madin looked like "a place where books are incinerated, not kept". He also said he felt 'terribly demoralised' when he examined plans for the convention centre. "Choosing my words to be as inoffensive as possible, I said I thought it was an unmitigated disaster." WHAT HAPPENED: Not only is the library still there, but there is now a campaign to save it from demolition amid plans for a striking new building as part of a £1bn redevelopment of the area.

"History has repeated itself," says Terry Grimley, local journalist and architecture campaigner. "His comments have had not real impact whatsoever on what has since taken place in Birmingham. I shouldn't think he likes what is planned for the new library either." The convention centre got built, too, opening in 1991. 7. National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh WHAT THE PRINCE SAID: Action spoke louder than words for the Prince when he quit as president of patrons of the Museums of Scotland in 1991 in protest at the selection procedure for designs for the proposed National Museum of Scotland in Chambers Street. He did not comment on the winning design even when called to open it. WHAT HAPPENED: Supporters of the Prince believe his dignified silence avoided a confrontation with a Scottish establishment spoiling for a fight, but Malcolm Fraser, the leading Edinburgh-based architect, said the Prince's actions made little difference. "Once he quit everybody else effectively stuck two fingers up at him by going on to create a great building that is sympathetic to its surroundings while being of its time and having a character of its own," said Mr Fraser.

"Otherwise we would have ended up with some dreadful pastiche based on a false notion of what should sit alongside established buildings – the architectural equivalent of a Classic FM compilation. In challenging these architects he seems too concerned with fighting the war rather than winning the peace." 8. Poundbury, Dorset WHAT THE PRINCE SAID: In 1993 he laid the founding stones for the 'urban village' new town which believed would be a model for future housing developments. He also championed the relatively unknown concept of affordable housing. WHAT HAPPENED: The street layout, modelled on traditional linear village development rather than the modern cul-de-sac patterns associated with suburban and post-war schemes, has proved so successful with residents it is now cited as an example of good practice in government manuals for improved design. Affordable housing is a flagship government policy. "One of the legacies of the Prince has been the consideration not just of buildings themselves but also communities and places," said Hank Dittmar, Chief Executive of The Prince's Foundation for the Built Environment. "At Poundbury he set out a vision of affordable housing and creating streets that were designed for people rather than cars.

At the time the conventional wisdom was that these were radical and impossible ideas and yet they are now a part of mainstream planning policy. 9. Ivor Crewe Lecture Hall, University of Essex WHAT THE PRINCE SAID: February 2008 he described the building, used by the Prince to address an audience of soldiers, as looking "like a dustbin". WHAT HAPPENED: It subsequently won one of the East of England regional 2008 awards from the RIBA. 10. £1bn housing scheme at former Chelsea Barracks, London. WHAT THE PRINCE SAID: Earlier this year the Prince wrote to Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, the emir of Qatar whose family are the main backers of a the scheme, calling for the proposed design by Richard Rogers to be scrapped in favour of a more traditional scheme devised by classicist Quinlan Terry. WHAT HAPPENED: Returning fire, supporters of Rogers, now Lord Rogers of Riverside, signed a round-robin letter calling on the Prince to keep out.

"It is essential in a The Prince of Wales will address the Royal Institute of British Architects this week, exactly 25 years after he created turmoil in the industry with his 'monstrous carbuncle' speech to the same audience. modern democracy," they said, "that private comments and behind-the-scenes lobbying by the prince should not be used to skew the course of an open and democratic planning process that is under way ... If the prince wants to comment on the design of this, or any other project, we urge him to do so through the established planning consultation process. Rather than use his privileged position to intervene in one of the most significant residential projects likely to be built in London in the next five years, he should engage in an open and transparent debate." The letters was signed by the likes of Lord Foster, Frank Gehry, Renzo Piano, Jean Nouvel, Sir Nicholas Serota. The final design has not yet been chosen. Amanda Baillieu, editor of Building Design and a Stirling prize judge said: "Of course the Prince's intervention is unfortunate, but as a piece of urbanism Chelsea Barracks is not a particularly good scheme, and so far nobody has listened.

It's not simply that it'll be a Gucci ghetto, it's that its overall form gives very little back to the city. Anything or anyone that starts the debate over this important London site is to be welcomed – royal or otherwise." She added: "He has certainly been a significant influence, the question is whether it has been negative or positive. The positive impact has been on the profession that thought it was beyond criticism, was on a pedestal and beyond reproach. The problem was that his first remarks were such a big blow that some architects never really recovered and for a long time we had designs that were safe, particularly in London. My criticism of him is that he often sees buildings and skylines as he would in a painting rather than as someone who uses them.

He hates the National Theatre on the South Bank but then he can't exactly pop along and see a play or spend an afternoon enjoying its spaces as a member of the crowd so he doesn't see it as ordinary people might, he only addresses its outside appearance." The outcome from prince's 'carbuncle' speech, twenty years on | Art and design | The Guardian Share on Messenger Close 'What is proposed is like a monstrous carbuncle on the face of a much loved and elegant friend." So, 20 years ago today, the Prince of Wales famously opened his attack on modern British architecture. The occasion was the 150th anniversary of the Royal Institute of British Architects, the setting Hampton Court Palace. Charles had been invited to present the Royal Gold Medal for Architecture to the Indian architect Charles Correa. He was expected to do little more than raise a glass of champagne and ask the winner how far he had come. Deliciously, this is exactly what the prince did not do. Instead, he seized the opportunity to denounce just about every aspect, facade, plan and section of the world the Riba represented. His masterstroke was to trash the proposed extension of the National Gallery designed by Ahrends Burton Koralek.

The carbuncle was never allowed to deface the London skyline. Having got his way, the prince leaned in favour of a determinedly camp, postmodern design by Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown. It was the beginning of a rather damp and foggy venture into the world of royal patronage. There was, indeed, a recognisable PoW-style in the 1980s and 1990s, promulgated by brogue-footed lickspits in search of, if not knighthoods and peerages, then a biscuit-tin architecture that was somehow meant to recall the glories of Georgian design. The result was a slight and harmless rash of pseudo-Georgian country houses funded by Thatcher-loving city slickers, the gimcrack redevelopment of Richmond Riverside and, ultimately, the trilby-hatted but ungentlemanly design of Paternoster Square, completed last year and demeaning St Paul's Cathedral today. And, of course, there was Poundbury, a potty extension to Dorchester with humble vernacular-style cottages designed by grand professional architects.

There was the Prince of Wales's popular book and TV documentary, A Vision of Britain, the short-lived magazine Perspectives and the Prince of Wales's Institute of Civil Architecture - which may, or may not, still exist. The controversy surrounding most of these buildings and projects was, looking back, little more than a light shower in a Wedgwood teacup. But there was something more. Quite a lot more, in fact. "For far too long", said the prince in his Hampton Court speech, "it seems to me, some planners and architects have consistently ignored the feelings and wishes of the mass of ordinary people in this country ... To be concerned about the way people live, about the environment they inhabit and the kind of community that is created by that environment, should surely be one of the prime requirements of a really good architect." Here, his intentions were not only good but spot on. While the 1960s and 1970s had produced some fascinating buildings and a few modern marvels, much British architecture had been pedantic, aggressive, uncaring and plain ugly.

"You have to give this much to the Luftwaffe," said Prince Charles at the Corporation of London Planning and Communication Committee's annual dinner at Mansion House in December 1987. "When it knocked down our buildings, it didn't replace them with anything more offensive than rubble." This joke was puerile, but who could stand up and say that the City, despite all its wealth and supposed intelligence, looked any better after the second world war than it had before? "Surely here, if anywhere," added the prince, "was the time and place to sacrifice some profit, if need be, for generosity of vision, for elegance, for dignity; for buildings which would raise our spirits and our faith in commercial enterprise ... On such a site [Paternoster Square], market forces, I would suggest, are not enough ... I would like to see architects working with artists and craftsmen, showing that pleasure and delight are indeed returning to architecture after their long exile." Prince Charles was indeed expressing the voice of the majority.

Perhaps what he could not see at the time was that far from retreating into a cosy world of agreeable Georgian architecture, British architects would return to the fray with a forward-looking architecture that is, on the whole, far superior to what had gone before the carbuncle speech at Hampton Court. Equally, the prince could not have foreseen a younger public hungry for a new architecture. Since his Hampton Court and Mansion House speeches, we have witnessed a lush flowering of hugely popular buildings by the likes of Frank Gehry, Daniel Libeskind and Zaha Hadid, along with tours de force by the likes of Norman Foster, Richard Rogers and Renzo Piano, and designs of great subtlety by many less famous architects. If architectural taste changed after Hampton Court and Mansion House, the prince did have something to do with it. He levelled the attack against mediocrity and carbuncles, real or supposed; he prompted a great national debate and he made many architects, and those who commissioned them, think again. What the vast majority chose not to do was to retreat into the world of doll's-house design.

Interviewed on ITV by Jonathan Dimbleby in 1994, the prince, speaking of his carbuncle speech, said: "I didn't particularly want to see this country ... disappear under a welter of ugliness." Nor, of course, did most people, including those who have added greatly to the gaiety of the built fabric with high-spirited modern buildings and those who have pushed the cause of architecture to fresh heights. The prince did not help his case by being goonish in his evaluation of the modern buildings he disliked. He described the Reading Room of the new British Library, designed by Colin St John Wilson and partners, as looking "more like the assembly hall of an academy for secret police". Those of us who have never been privileged to see inside an assembly hall in an academy for spooks were left baffled: the Reading Room of the British Library, a comfortable, generous and much-liked space, looks uncannily like a reading room in a great library. The prince was on fertile ground, however, when he spoke of the need to produce buildings of beauty that "lift our spirits".

And a number of commentators, with a love for buildings old and new, might have written this: "For a long time I have felt strongly about the wanton destruction which has taken place in this country in the name of progress; about the sheer unadulterated ugliness and mediocrity of public and commercial buildings, and of housing estates, not to mention the dreariness and heartlessness of so much urban planning." If Prince Charles really feels this, he should be championing a campaign to stop this country from being smothered in cornball American business parks, the New Jersey-style developments that rip along the Thames estuary, the banal new housing estates blighting Britain. What he might worry about less today is the quality of most buildings at the top of the architectural tree; he, and we, need to worry about the weeds and brambles spreading below. We might all join forces if the prince wanted to launch a campaign against the trashy architecture and design that those without means are forced to endure, and which are like a plague of boils rather than just the one carbuncle he lampooned 20 years ago.

In a speech to the Housing Corporation in Brighton in February 1999, the prince said: "We should build legacies, not blots, on our landscape." I agree, but those legacies, your Royal Highness, can take many forms. Six wonders of the post-carbuncle world 1 Imperial War Museum North, Trafford Park, Manchester 2 Selfridges, Birmingham 3 Said Business School, Oxford 4 Laban Dance Centre, Deptford, London 5 National Space Centre, Leicester 6 Ruskin Museum, Lancaster Prince Charles: When I said monstrous carbuncle... | London Evening Standard Prince Charles: When I said monstrous carbuncle... Wednesday 13 May 2009 08:21 BST Click to follow The Evening Standard Low-key:Prince Charles addresses Riba on its 175th anniversary, calling for the institute to work with his foundation Prince Charles has renewed his attack on modernist architecture, branding the destruction of towns and cities in the 1960s as "brutal" and "insane".

The Prince Of Wales, speaking last night on the 175th anniversary of the Royal Institute of British Architects, initially appeared to offer an olive branch to a profession he has largely been at odds with for 25 years. He began his lecture last night by saying sorry for his infamous "monstrous carbuncle" attack on plans for an extension to the national Gallery made at Riba's 150th anniversary. "I am sorry if I somehow left the faintest impression that I wished to kick-start some kind of style war' between classicists and modernists; or that I somehow wanted to drag the world back to the 18th century," said the Prince, adding: "All I asked was for room to be given to traditional approaches to architecture and urbanism." But the apology went only so far. He insisted he had a right to criticise proposed developments, which some might see as a thinly veiled reference to his vehement opposition to the current glass-and-steel design by Lord Rogers for the £1 billion redevelopment of Chelsea barracks. Prince Charles told the packed audience: " Let me point out that I don't go around criticising other people's private artworks.

I may not like some of them very much, but it is their business what they choose to put in their houses. However, as I have said before, architecture and the built environment affect us all." He went on: "It was when I was a teenager in the 1960s that I became profoundly aware of the brutal destruction that was being wrought on so many of our towns and cities. "The loss was immense, incalculable — an insane Reformation' that, I believe, went too far, particularly when so much could have been restored, converted or re-used." The Prince went on to liken the effects of Modernism with the crisis in the banking and financial sector. "At a time when, believe it or not, we are hearing calls for a return to old-fashioned, traditional banking virtues, might these calls not apply equally to the manner in which our built environment gives physical expression to the way we do business and live our lives, as essentially social beings?" he asked. The Prince stressed that he had been calling for sustainability in building for more than 20 years.

He said: "I pray that a new and developing relationship between this Institute and my Foundation [for the Built Environment] can enable us to work together to create the kind of organic architecture for the 21st century that not only reflects the intuitive needs, aspirations and cultural identity of countless communities around the world, but also the innate patterns of nature." Some observers believed he was taking a swipe at Lord Rogers when he launched a further attack on modernist architects who live in "beautiful classical homes". Lord Rogers lives in a Georgian house — albeit one that has been modernised. The Prince said: "The other day an architect friend of mine asked: How many Pritzker prizewinners are not living in beautiful classical homes?' and we all know what he was getting at. Surely architects flock in such numbers to live in these lovely old houses — many from the 18th century, often in the last remaining conservation areas of our towns and cities that haven't yet been destroyed — because, deep down, they do respond to the natural patterns and rhythms I have been talking about." The attempt at some conciliation appeared to appease some of the architects in the audience.

Paul Monaghan, whose firm AHMM is working with Rogers on the Chelsea Barracks scheme told Building Design magazine: "It was low-key, polite and amusing at times. He seemed to say that 25 years ago, he was only saying there should be some room to do traditional architecture rather than saying everything should be traditional, so it's good that he corrected that." But architect Will Alsop, who had called for a boycott of last night's speech, said: "He did start a style war, which is the most facile of architectural conversations. He missed the point entirely. He successfully stopped the National Gallery extension and the careers of the architects have never really recovered. He needs to think about that." More about: Charles, Prince of Wales - Wikiquote Charles, Prince of Wales Jump to: navigation , search Charles, Prince of Wales Prince Charles, Prince of Wales (Charles Philip Arthur George Mountbatten-Windsor; born 14 November , 1948 ) is the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh . He is heir apparent to the respective thrones of the United Kingdom and the other 15 Commonwealth Realms.

The prince is well known for his extensive charity work, particularly for the Prince's Trust. He also carries out a full schedule of royal duties and, increasingly, is taking on more royal roles from his ageing parents. The prince was married to the late Diana, Princess of Wales with whom he has two sons, Prince William of Wales and Prince Henry of Wales . He is now married to Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall ; his private life has been extensively reported in the press. Contents Sourced[ edit ] I think it's something that dawns on you with the most ghastly, inexorable sense. I didn't suddenly wake up in my pram one day and say 'Yippee, I —', you know. But I think it just dawns on you, you know, slowly, that people are interested in one, and slowly you get the idea that you have a certain duty and responsibility. "The Prince of Wales: Full text of replies in radio debut", The Times, 3 March 1969, p. 3. Asked when he had first realised that he was heir to the throne, in a Radio interview with Jack di Manio broadcast on 1 March 1969.

This was the first time the Prince had appeared on radio. You have got to choose somebody very carefully who could fulfill this particular role, because people like you, perhaps, would expect quite a lot from somebody like that and it has got to be somebody pretty special. "Prince Charles discusses marriage", The Times, 27 June 1969, p. 10 Asked about "the lady the Prince should marry" in a joint televised interview with BBC and ITN broadcast on 26 June 1969. I, Charles, Prince of Wales, do become your liege man of life and limb and of earthly worship and faith and truth I will bear unto you to live and die against all manner of folks. Oath of fealty taken by the Prince at his investiture at Caernarfon Castle, 1 July 1969. When people are uncertain about what is right and what is wrong, and anxious about being considered old-fashioned, it seems to be worse than folly that Christians are still arguing about doctrinal matters which can only bring needless distress to a number of people.

Clifford Longley, "Handicaps of royalty are highlighted by Prince's controversial remarks", The Times, Monday, 3 July 1978, p. 2 Speech to the International Congress of the Salvation Army at the Empire Pool, Wembley, 30 June 1978. Senior British Roman Catholics took this as an attack on their Church and pointed to the religious disabilities attaching to the succession to the throne. Delighted and frankly amazed that Diana is prepared to take me on. BBC News online 'On this day', 24 February 1981. Interview with the BBC on announcing his engagement to Lady Diana Spencer. Anthony Carthew (ITN): And, I suppose, in love? Lady Diana Spencer: Of course! Charles, Prince of Wales: Whatever 'in love' means. " Anthony Carthew " (Obituary), The Times, 22 January 2007. On announcing his engagement to Lady Diana Spencer. A large number of us have developed a feeling that architects tend to design houses for the approval of fellow architects and critics, not for the tenants.

Prince of Wales' website Speech at the 150th anniversary of the Royal Institute of British Architects, Royal Gala Evening at Hampton Court Palace, 30 May, 1984. Mrs. Parker Bowles is a great friend of mine...a friend for a very long time. She will continue to be a friend for a long time. When asked about his relationship with Camilla during his interview with journalist Jonathan Dimbleby in 1994. Book: Charles and Camilla: Portrait of a Love Affair, Author: Gyles Brandreth, page 280 Instead of designing an extension to the elegant facade of the National Gallery which complements it and continues the concept of columns and domes, it looks as if we may be presented with a kind of municipal fire station, complete with the sort of tower that contains the siren. I would understand better this type of high-tech approach if you demolished the whole of Trafalgar Square and started again with a single architect responsible for the entire layout, but what is proposed is like a monstrous carbuncle on the face of a much-loved and elegant friend.

Prince of Wales' website Speech at the 150th anniversary of the Royal Institute of British Architects, Royal Gala Evening at Hampton Court Palace, 30 May, 1984. The Prince had undoubtedly read "The Spencers on Spas" written the previous year by his step-mother-in-law, Raine, Countess Spencer, which included on page 14 the observation that "Monstrous carbuncles of concrete have erupted in gentle Georgian Squares". Medieval Islam was a religion of remarkable tolerance for its time, allowing Jews and Christians the right to practise their inherited beliefs, and setting an example which was not, unfortunately, copied for many centuries in the West. The surprise, ladies and gentlemen, is the extent to which Islam has been a part of Europe for so long, first in Spain, then in the Balkans, and the extent to which it has contributed so much towards the civilisation which we all too often think of, wrongly, as entirely Western. Islam is part of our past and our present, in all fields of human endeavour. It has helped to create modern Europe. It is part of our own inheritance, not a thing apart.

Speech on Islam and the West to the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, 27 October 1993. Jonathan Dimbleby: Understandably, when your marriage collapsed, you form close friendships, you re-establish close friendships, of whatever character that friendship is. Were you, did you try to be, faithful and honourable to your wife when you took on the vow of marriage? Charles, Prince of Wales: Yes, absolutely. Dimbleby: And you were? Charles: Yes, until it became irretrievably broken down, us both having tried. Alan Hamilton, "Intimate portrait of a private man in the public eye", The Times, 30 June 1994. Interview with Jonathan Dimbleby for the television programme "Charles: The private man, the public role", transmitted 29 June 1994. Islamic culture in its traditional form has striven to preserve this integrated spiritual view of the world in a way we have not seen fit to do in recent generations in the West.[...] There is the potential for establishing new and valuable links between Islamic civilisation and the West. Perhaps, for instance, we could begin by having more Muslim teachers in British schools, or by encouraging exchanges of teachers.

Everywhere in the world people are seemingly wanting to learn English. But in the West, in turn, we need to be taught by Islamic teachers how to learn once again with our hearts, as well as our heads. Speech on A Sense of the Sacred: Building Bridges Between Islam and the West to Wilton Park , 13 December 1996. After my speech, the President detached himself from the group of appalling old waxworks who accompanied him and took his place at the lectern. He then gave a kind of "propaganda" speech which was loudly cheered by the bussed-in party faithful at the suitable moment in the text. Katie Nicholl, Dominic Turnbull, "Appalling waxworks", Mail on Sunday, 13 November 2005, p. 1. Entry in private journal about the handover of British sovereignty in Hong Kong in 1997 referring to President Jiang Zemin of China. The contents were disclosed in the Mail on Sunday in November 2005. Such is the end of Empire. "'It's no wonder this region gets jumpy about the Chinese...'", Mail on Sunday, 13 November 2005, p. 8.

Entry in private journal referring to an incident in which he had to fly in business class while leading politicians flew in first class. Prince Charles becomes patron of National Gallery - BBC News BBC News Prince Charles becomes patron of National Gallery 16 February 2016 Image caption Prince Charles made his infamous 'monstrous carbuncle' comments in his first public speech Prince Charles has become the first Royal Patron of London's prestigious National Gallery. The announcement was made as the prince visited an exhibition of work by French Romantic artist Eugene Delacroix. The prince and the gallery have had a long association as he was a trustee from 1986 to 1993. In 1984, Prince Charles famously described a proposed National Gallery extension as a " monstrous carbuncle ". "As a patron of the arts, a passionate advocate for cultural life and a former trustee, the Prince of Wales is uniquely qualified to become the National Gallery's first Royal Patron," said Hannah Rothschild, chair of trustees.

"It is a great honour for the institution and we look forward to working more closely with him in the years to come." The prince's "carbuncle" speech was made at a gala evening to mark the 150th anniversary of the Royal Institute of British Architects (Riba) at Hampton Court Palace. "What is proposed seems to me a monstrous carbuncle on the face of a much-loved and elegant friend," the prince said . Outspoken royal The remark, though amusing to many, did nonetheless have more serious repercussions. The extension, designed by architect Peter Ahrends, was scrapped altogether and the final design, built in 1991, was created by the partnership Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown instead. Some architects became so incensed by what they began to regard as the prince's interference that - even 25 years later - they called for a boycott of a further speech from the prince to Riba in 2009. As Royal Patron of the National Gallery, the prince will offer his support and encouragement to its various activities. Patronages generally reflect the interests of the member of the royal family involved and many of those held by the prince stem from his passion for the environment and the arts.

He holds 400 patronages and those to do with the arts include the Actors' Benevolent Fund and the Scottish Ballet. The National Gallery's exhibition Delacroix and the Rise of Modern Art opens to the public on Wednesday. Prince Charles and his famous views - from carbuncles to countryside - Telegraph Prince Charles Prince Charles and his famous views - from carbuncles to countryside Although the Prince of Wales is not known for speaking out about the City and finance, he has made his views on a range of other topics well known. The Prince of Wales has spoken out on issues ranging from the countryside to complementary medicine. Photo: IAN JONES Follow Architecture In 1984 the Prince used a speech to the 150th anniversary of the Royal Institute of British Architects to attack modern design, describing a scheme by Peter Ahrends for a towering extension to the National Gallery as a "monstrous carbuncle on the face of a much-loved and elegant friend". He has since spoken out in favour of traditional architecture in a series of other interventions .

In 2009 he criticised Richard Rogers’ proposed design for a £1bn housing scheme at the former Chelsea Barracks in London, calling for it to be scrapped in favour of a more traditional scheme devised by classicist Quinlan Terry. Related Articles 03 Oct 2013 Environment The Prince warned last year it would be an “act of suicide on a grand scale” to flout nature’s limits and ignore environmental issues. He predicted the current generation was “heading to the terrifying point of no return” and future generations could be condemned to an “unbearably toxic and unstable existence”. He also warned the human race was “pushing nature beyond her limits”. Accepting a Lifetime Achievement award from the 7th International Green Awards gala ceremony, he said: “We cannot go on thinking that the Earth with somehow just cope and go on being so abundantly generous with her resources.” Complementary medicine The Prince has been a vocal supporter of complementary medicine. He is said to have urged Andy Burnham, a former Health Secretary, in 2009 to ensure more such treatments were made available on the NHS.

In 2005 the Smallwood report, which the Prince commissioned , also said complementary therapies should be given a greater role in the NHS. The Prince’s Foundation for Integrated Health, a complementary medicine charity, was dissolved last year. Countryside Earlier this year, the Prince argued that the countryside was “ as precious as an ancient cathedral ” that must be protected. Rural areas were suffering from issues like insensitive development and post office closures, he warned. In an impassioned speech to the Oxford Farming Conference, he said the only way to protect Britain's rural landscape was to support the farmers responsible for maintaining fields, buildings and businesses, especially small family farms struggling to survive. BBC The BBC said last year that the Prince of Wales's staff had sent letters to the former director general Mark Thompson, commenting on the corporation's programmes. One of the Prince's aides insisted the letters were about "routine" matters. The monstrous carbuncle (Part Two) - Prince Charles condemns architect’s Chelsea Barracks plan | Daily Mail Online The monstrous carbuncle (Part Two) - Prince Charles condemns architect’s Chelsea Barracks plan comments Prince Charles is fighting to stop a controversial modern development in London designed by the architect he famously clashed with 25 years ago.

Lord Rogers has come up with a scheme for 320 luxury apartments on the site of Chelsea Barracks in London. But the Prince says the plan is unsuitable and unsympathetic to the historic surroundings. Instead he has made a personal plea to the site’s owners, Qatari Diar – the development arm of the Qatari royal family – to consider an alternative scheme. The Prince v the Modernist: Charles opposed a development designed by Lord Rogers (pictured with wife Ruth) Modernist Lord Rogers is used to being criticised by the Prince. In 1984, Charles publicly attacked the architect’s proposed extension to London’s National Gallery as ‘a monstrous carbuncle’. The Prince has written to the Emir of Qatar urging him to reconsider the Chelsea scheme and to look, instead, at a classical design by one of his favourite architects, Quinlan Terry. In a letter written last month, Charles is understood to have urged caution over the plans and asked Qatari Diar to involve him in discussions over the future of the site.

RELATED ARTICLES Share this article Share The Prince’s intervention emerged at the opening of the Royal Hospital Infirmary – an event attended by Lady Thatcher, the Prince and Mr Terry, who designed a classical addition to the famous Christopher Wren building. The Royal Hospital is directly across the road from the site of the former barracks and the Prince took the opportunity of taking Mr Terry to view it. Mr Terry revealed: ‘He told us how unhappy he was with the current proposals. ‘He expressed a fervent desire that the scheme should reflect the stunning architecture of Wren’s hospital. He made it clear to all of us that he was even more determined to battle over this site in order to protect and enhance this important corner of London.’ Charles says this Chelsea Barracks scheme is unsuitable for the area Qatari Diar, together with developer Candy & Candy, bought the site from the Ministry of Defence in May 2006 for almost £1billion. Lord Rogers was then commissioned to create about 350 luxury flats on the barracks site. The original scheme was for the apartments to be housed in a series of ‘pavilions’ rising to ten storeys. But the plans were met with outrage by the Belgravia Residents’ Association.

As a result, the design was amended and submitted to Westminster Council in February. Changes include increasing the open-space element from two to six acres and lowering some of the buildings, which reduced the total number of flats. However, there was no compromise on the modernist steel-and-glass design which, opponents claim, is out of keeping with the local area. In contrast, Mr Terry revealed he has produced sketches of designs using classical-style materials – brick, stone and slate – inspired by the substantial mansions, garden squares and traditional courtyards of Belgravia, Kensington and Chelsea. He said: ‘I have been designing for decades buildings which are classical on the outside but they always incorporate the technological requirements of my many demanding and high-profile clients. There is no conflict between traditional architecture and sound technology.’ Both Clarence House and Qatari Diar declined to comment.

Question: Which building’s proposed extension did Prince Charles describe as a great carbuncle?
Answer: The National Gallery